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Being over his prescribed playing weight of 270 pounds was getting expensive for Ravens rookie outside Courtney Upshaw, drawing fines from the team of nearly $20,000 this season.

So, the second-round draft pick from Alabama did something about it.

Upshaw has dieted and exercised his way down to a much leaner weight of 266 to 268 pounds. He says he hasn't been fined since the fifth week of the season.

I didn't realize that it was enough of a problem that the team was fining him. The article also says that he came into training camp at over 280 lbs. That's pretty heavy for an OLB but I'm glad he's getting it down a bit. Upshaw could probably stand to get in better shape too and after some more time in a NFL conditioning program I'd expect him to look even better going forward. I've been fairly happy with his performance thus far but any added explosiveness would be great.

Being over his prescribed playing weight of 270 pounds was getting expensive for Ravens rookie outside Courtney Upshaw, drawing fines from the team of nearly $20,000 this season.

So, the second-round draft pick from Alabama did something about it.

Upshaw has dieted and exercised his way down to a much leaner weight of 266 to 268 pounds. He says he hasn't been fined since the fifth week of the season.

I didn't realize that it was enough of a problem that the team was fining him. The article also says that he came into training camp at over 280 lbs. That's pretty heavy for an OLB but I'm glad he's getting it down a bit. Upshaw could probably stand to get in better shape too and after some more time in a NFL conditioning program I'd expect him to look even better going forward. I've been fairly happy with his performance thus far but any added explosiveness would be great.

He's definitely a big boy. It's amazing the athleticism he even shows at that weight. I think if he can get down to about 260, we'll see him improve a lot._________________

[quote="SFPatsFan"]

Flaccomania is a genius who is an expert on literally everything he talks about so you should trust him. [/quote]

So he's getting into better shape, gaining experience and now he has Terrell Suggs back to play on the opposite side of the line?

Things are looking pretty good for Upshaw right now. I don't mind that he's not shown much pass rush ability so far. We need him to be solid against the run, first and foremost. As his weight gets down to what the Ravens want, we should see him being more explosive and making more plays in the back field (which he has done on occasion already).

I believe Harbs said in yesterday's press conference that Upshaw was awarded the game ball after the Dallas game last week._________________

Yeah, I think Upshaw being around 255-262 would be his ideal range. It should allow him to still have plenty of bulk (since he'll mostly be losing fat) to be stout against the run... give him that extra explosion in his first step to be a more effective pass rusher off the edge... while still allowing him to maintain the power in his game to be effective at both pass rusher and edge setter._________________

I just wanted to mention that one thing I have been very impressed with Upshaw for is his backside contain. There have been several plays this year where the opponent runs an end-around, reverse, or simply tries to bounce a play outside/reverse field when the lanes are clogged. Upshaw always seems to be there maintaining his gap discipline. My dad joked that maybe its because he was too fat/slow to pursue, I think that he could definitely turn into a guy that, while never a star, really keeps the wheels moving on an elite Ravens defense moving into the future (assuming we reload a bit). Basically he could be a better JJ.